New Beginnings
by Aya Saibara
Summary: This takes place after the final battle. Please, don't read if you haven't finished the game, it contains huge spoilers. ( I'm not english so there might be mistakes).


**A/N:** **Okay. So. I finished FF XV saturday and I have a LOT to say. First... Actually, it's hard to write a story on something you're not sure what happened. I'm not entirely sure about what happened in the ending but I do know that the three friends are alive and Noctis and Luna sacrificed themselves and live happily together in the beyond. People have various interpretations, that is my own, and actually, I'd like you, readers, to give me your thoughts about the ending, if you think that's a good or bad ending. To me, it is a very good ending. Noctis has what he wanted most (living with the woman he loves) even though, he lost his friends along the way. I'm not entirely sure that the world Noct and Luna live is actually the afterlife but more like "the crystal world" (because we see crystals flying during the wedding scene). I really liked the game overall, there's just so many things that happens off-screen and we have to guess what happens and that saddens me, so I hope Square Enix will make things clear about what really happened, and I also hope that we get to see more Noct/Luna interactions on future things (I don't think it's gonna end here, even though they made clear they weren't going to make a sequel). I'm not a huuuuuuuuuge shipper (okay, I like this couple I admit it), but the lack of interactions between the two made the ship more harder to understand. Anyway, I'm off topic now, so, good reading !**

* * *

Another slash. The daemons kept on coming, one after another. The night sky was as dark as it was earlier too. How long is it been since Noctis walked up the stairs ? Prompto was too distracted to fight, actually. He thought about his friend. His bestfriend. His brother. The only family he had. He knew what that meant when he left them. A huge golem raised his blazing sword in order to try to kill him, and Gladiolus stood in front of the blonde guy to protect him.

"What are you doing, Prompto ?! Can't you see what's happening here ? We have a job to do !", he yelled.

The moment he stopped thinking about Noctis, Prompto saw the huge monster on the ground. Right, they needed to fight to make things easier for Noctis. It's the least he could do after all. He reloaded his guns and aimed for a monster flying in the air. He wasn't really focused so he missed his target on a few occasions, but that didn't mean he wouldn't be able to fight it. If Ignis could kill monsters, he could do so as well.

Then, all of a sudden, all the monsters stopped fighting. There was a screeching noise, so loud that Prompto thought he was going to be deaf, and a huge light coming out from the royal castle. Ignis couldn't see it though. All the monsters were looking at it and started to fade. This was it. This was over. The light was coming back. No war, no evil. Just light and peace. They will have to rebuild from scratch, but at least, they were done with fighting beasts. They were free again. But then, that meant— ! Prompto started to run towards the castle, throwing his gun on the ground in the process. Ignis and Gladio stood still and just watched their friend walking up the stairs to access the building.

Reaching the throne room, Prompto almost fell on the floor by running too fast. He didn't think of anything except finding his friend but... No one was here. The room was empty. It was cold, probably the only dark room left in this castle now that the light was back. And it felt extremely lonely. He was completely out of breath and was still searching for his friend, even though he already knew the answer. No one stood on the throne. No one near it. No one in this room except him. He heard footsteps behind him, these were probably Ignis and Gladio's. Suddenly, his legs couldn't carry him anymore and so, he fell on his knees on the ground. Without turning back to look at his friends, he said:

"He's gone... isn't he?"

Noctis has always been his bestfriend, it couldn't be over now. Not this way. And yet... Prompto looked at his hands, the tears came blurring his eyesight. It wasn't right, none of this was right. They've lost the Oracle, their King, their Kingdom, they were all alone now. How come this could be the world Noctis sacrificed himself for ?

"He did what he had to", Gladio said, his voice low.

"It's... It's not right..."

Ignis didn't say anything. As much as he didn't like to say it, Noctis was one of his closest friends, and the fact he was gone now... It sure made his heart empty. He adjusted his glasses and sighed. _What a harsh world we live in_ , he thought. And he was damn right.

"Nothing is right, Prompto. You want something...", Gladio started. He gave him a hand to help him get up, "...you have to pay the price for it. C'mon, time to go."

The young man stood on his two legs and before leaving the throne room, he looked at the throne for one last time.

"Thanks for everything... Noct."

* * *

Later that day, they reached Hammerhead where they met with Cindy and Cid. They explained them everything that happened, stating that they was no more threats and that the world would be a better place now that Ardyn was gone. They didn't really know what exactly Ardyn was, where the daemons came from, but they all knew that if Noctis stopped him, then everything will be over. They discussed a lot. Ignis, Prompto and Gladiolus didn't know what to do from here. Their home was Insomnia and now that it was gone, they had nowhere to go to now. They weren't advisers, bodyguards or just friends, just three men without jobs.

"We could ask Iris", Ignis suggested.

They could have continue hunting beasts but since they were no more daemons, hunting quests were done. Gladio sat on one of the chairs near the caravan, quickly followed by Prompto and Ignis. He could see on Prompto's face that he wasn't feeling alright. And he understood that. He looked at the empty chair in front of him. Noctis would be here, laughing, taping on his phone screen and yelling because he won that King's Knight game for once. Because Gladio would have gone easy on them and he knew that playing helped Noctis feeling better. Then later, they would have gone to the first lake to go fishing and Noctis would be all happy because he caught one fish. Prompto was right after all. It was really hard. But crying won't change anything, he knew that.

"I've got some news. Cor said he had a job for you", Cid uttered from the gas station.

"Sounds like a good idea. Cor always has an answer for everything", Ignis affirmed.

They all agreed. But for now, they had to rest. It's been a really long day. And they had some mourning to do.

* * *

The moment Noctis opened his eyes, it was as if nothing has happened. His bedroom was as clean as ever. The sun was up in the sky, and there were no traces of rebellion or fights outside. But he was on his own. The streets were empty. He just saw silhouettes walking, but.. like they were ghosts. In which dimension was he ? Was he dead or alive ? He looked at his hands: they were real. He was breathing, and looked alive so why did he look like some kind of dream ? He wore his casual outfit, his mitten on his left arm, his shoes untied, as always. He knew something was off. Then, he turned his face to look at the mirror in front of him. What did it mean. He was twenty again. Did... everything was just a dream ? No, it felt all too real. The first thing that came to his mind was to leave the room but the moment he touched the lock, everything around him disappeared. And his head ached. Like Hell. No, this wasn't real.

* * *

After a short while, he opened his eyes again, this time, he was in the throne room but still alone. But at least, he stood the same way after his battle with Ardyn. His head didn't hurt anymore, that was a first. Crystal petals in the air, he now understood where he was. Ardyn's death didn't mean the end. It meant the beginning. He stood up and went down the stairs, his feet guiding him outside the throne room. The castle was empty but he knew exactly where to go. In his dream, the door leading outside his bedroom was the only thing that he could see after everything went blank, there was something waiting for him outside. And if he was outside now, that meant... That someone was waiting for him inside. And he knew all too well who. He waited for the elevator to come, tapping his foot on the ground. He knew what happened; he sacrificed himself and now, he was inside the crystal, living the way he wanted. In here, he was just an ordinary man.

He jumped out of the elevator, and turned left to reach the last door of the hallway. It was his room. Where everything started. If the door disappeared, it meant that he was wrong, and the dreams won't ever stop. But if not, then he would stay here with **her**. Forever. It wasn't like it was trapped after all, that's what he always wished for. Hesitantly, he turned the doorknob and opened it. His breathing slowed down. Luna. She was here. Alive. Even though he only saw her back, he already knew she smiled. She always smiled. He walked inside the room, really slowly, like he feared that she would fade away. He stopped midway, when she turned around to look at him. She had a syllablossom in her hands.

"You look old", she pronounced laughing.

Actually, he was too stunned to even smile or respond. He went through so much... **They** went through so much. She died for him after all. No, she died because of him, because at the time, he was too stubborn to make decisions. And he cried. He cried a lot, until he had no more tears to shed. Because he missed her so much, and because remembering her death always reminded him how weak he's always been. And yet, all this time... She was waiting here, for him. For ten whole years. He made a step closer, reaching out to her without touching her.

"Are you real ?", he asked, with a shaky voice.

The beautiful young woman dropped the flower on the floor, her smile still on her face.

"You find out."

In the blink of an eye, two strong arms held her tightly. She didn't hesitate an instant to hug him back. She wanted this as much as he did. If she hadn't known better, she'd say that he couldn't love her as much as she does but... No, he really did love her. There's so much he wanted to tell her and yet, the only thing he could say was:

"I'm sorry."

That surprised Luna. Why was he apologizing for ? He did nothing wrong. She performed her duty, she had to die. It was the reason of her existence. She could feel his body shaking. He suffered so much all this time, and he knew she hurt him.

"I promised I'd save you but you ended up saving me and—"

She let go of him. That's what she thought, he was crying. She touched his beard, and looked at his disheveled hair. He had changed yet he was still the same at the same time. Then she stroked his cheek and put her forehead on his. That felt weird this time. Every time she touched someone else's forehead was to heal this person, that was the first time she did it that way and even though it felt weird at first, she enjoyed the feeling.

"None of what happened was your fault, Noctis. So stop blaming yourself."

He opened his eyes and looked at her, his face close to hers.

"Still... I'm sorry", he muttered, not even looking at her.

Again, she stroked his cheek and made him look at her. His eyes filled with shame and sadness changed all of a sudden. She could read all the love he had for her.

"I wouldn't be here today if I hadn't done what I did."

And with that, she pressed her lips on his, without the slightest hesitation. How long has she been waiting for this ? How long was he waiting for this too ? That surprised him but he closed his eyes automatically. They were here, together, alive and that's all that mattered. Yes, he has lost his friends, but at least, he made sure they were alright. In the end, he had saved people. The last people he cared about in the real world.

That was a new beginning, for both parties. Noctis would live eternally with Luna and his friends will carry on his legacy, hopefully. And maybe someday... They will meet again.


End file.
